The Call

Why Supportive Housing Ends Homelessness for Families

The Justice Revival has accepted the challenge of the City of Dallas, Dallas Metro Homeless Alliance, and the Dallas Housing Authority to place 700 of our homeless citizens into housing. This will be accomplished by developing an outreach and education strategy among our partners that will result in community wide understanding, acceptance, and prayerfully a support system for the Permanent Supportive Housing Initiative. This would include an opportunity to accept a call to assist in the development of a dialogue between neighborhoods that would be open to the mission of the Justice Revival/PSH partnership, which would result in a healthy and safe environment of the 700 units and their neighborhoods by 2014.

The Justice Revival has a unique opportunity to also become active participants to assist the poor by utilizing our resources of leadership and laity to ask the Dallas City Council to implement into its planning and policy efforts a real goal and objectives timeline to accomplish this task.

Housing For Low-Income Families

There are currently four avenues to help low-income families to remain off the homeless rolls. They are (1) Transitional Housing (2) Permanent Supportive Housing (3) Affordable Housing with Resident Services, and (4) Affordable Housing.

Transitional Housing

This is housing with intensive services intended to stabilize high-need homeless families and help them make the transition from shelter to subsidized or unsubsidized housing in the community. Programs can operate in a single site or in scattered sites. Services are time-limited with a 24 month maximum length of stay; however, some programs allow the families to “transition into place” or stay permanently after the transition period ends. This program normally offers case management, counseling, help with securing housing, help obtaining public benefits and employment, help in building support systems, and training in daily living skills, including budgeting, and conflict resolution. Staffing is intensive, with an average of two full-time staff for every five families in one large study. Programs typically require sobriety and participation in activities to gain self-sufficiency.

Permanent Supportive Housing

PSH is a combination of permanent subsidized housing and intensive services that was originally developed for single individuals, but has more recently extended to a small group of homeless families facing complex and persistent challenges such as mental illness and substance abuse. Services typically include case management, supports for mental, physical and chemical health, parenting, child care, child custody, adult education, employment services, and information and referral to community services. PSH allows tenants to live independently, and participate in community life. It is cost effective and a successful alternative to more expensive and less effective emergency services or institutional settings.

Click here to learn about Permanent Supportive Housing by your Council District

Click here to download the Permanent Supportive Housing Plan.

Click here to learn more about the Core Values.